Star Fox: The collapse of Lylat
by Stu1951
Summary: The system of Lylat lies on the brink of collapse. Can the team of Star Fox attempt to restore order or will they simply intensify the problems that they are faced with?
1. Chapter 1

Star Fox fan fiction:

The collapse of Lylat:

**Authors note: This is my first fan-fiction, and I'm very new to this, so let me know whether you think it's good, terrible or something else. Simply review what you think. This is quite short because it is the prologue, and with that, I shall start. **

** Prologue:**

The Shining patterns and rings of warp-space slowly faded into a peaceful, empty sky. The Cornerian Cruiser that had just emerged from the bright tunnel relaxed its powerful jets and slowly came to halt. The shining blue ball of Corneria could be seen on the horizon. The cruisers jets gradually turned and ignited, causing the great spacecraft to turn towards the shining ball. The cruiser itself was one of several models in its series, it was triangular in shape and it had seven great rocket jets at the back. The front was pointed, and slid upwards until it reached the back; this was to reduce friction during a descent to a planet. The interior of the cruiser consisted of three decks, seven fuel canisters, an engine room, numerous cabins, and the control room (which is where the craft was steered). Once the cruiser was in place, the jets began to activate, each one sending a small blue flame back. As the jets powered up, the flames got bigger and bigger until they had generated enough thrust to propel the ship forwards.

Several small Cornerian fighter planes appeared to emerge from nowhere as it left the hyper-space warp. Their appearance was similar to that of an underpowered Arwing, with two green wings pointing out from each side of the cockpit, where the pilot sat. The fighter planes (there were five.) each activated their boost, making an approach on the great cruiser. The third one turned, and approached one of the jets, avoiding the flame.

The pilot of the plane activated his communication device. "When do I fire?" he asked to the rest of the group. There was no reply. "Do you read me?" He said, this time in a more subtle voice. A reply came from the pilot of the fourth fighter in a low, worried voice: "Initiate front lasers." Each of the pilots click a switch at the top right corner of the cockpit. The front of each plane broke open, and a turret slowly ejected from the gap. The same voice that had spoken the previous line spoke again, this time in a wavering, worried voice: "Activate the plasma generators, and light concentrators." The pilots each clicked on two switches. Quiet, high-pitched sounds emanated from the engines.

After a painfully long pause the final order came: "Fire at will."

Lasers from all directions scraped at the cruiser, none of them causing much damage to it. A second set of bright yellow lasers needled the cruiser, but still barely a dent was done.

In a blind panic, the nervous voice that had been ordering the group screamed at the others: "Activate the smart bomb dispencers." After four clicks, the voice spoke out again, this time in an assertive and confident way; "Prepare the bomb propellants." The following clicks that came were slow and steady. Another order came: "Start the bomb projection sequence." The orders were followed. One wing of each fighter had a section that folded back, revealing a hexagon shaped device, that was glowing bright blue.

Each Cornerian fighter of the current model was loaded with an emergency smart bomb, but they were rarely ever used.

"Aim at a fuel canister." Came the voice again. After two very long minutes the voice spoke out: "Fire."

Five hexagon pieces of red-painted metal ejected from each of the fighter planes and sped towards one of the fuel canisters.

Just before the smart bomb hit the canister, the voice gave one final order: "Detonate!"

Five great circular balls of pure plasma energy appeared around the canisters, one of the canisters gave way, leaving the plasmatic energy to ignite it. A gigantic explosion flooded through space, annihilating the Cornerian fighters and several surrounding asteroids.

After the explosion had passed, little remained of what was once the great cruiser. In fact, the space was rather clean, wiped by the great explosion.

The investigation of what had just happened was taken straight to Pepper, head of the Cornerian army.

**And that's it for the prologue. What did you think? Review. There was quite a lot of action and well, explosions in this chapter, but the following chapters should contain more speech with interesting characters and what have you. Can I just note that I am not a huge fan of Star Fox myself. I have only played one of the games (Star Fox 64) and didn't really get much time out of it. The reason why I am writing a fanfic of it, is that I think the game left room for more storylines, and also I couldn't think of another series I had any better ideas for. Thanks for reading. =D. **


	2. Chapter 2: Macbeth's Crisis

Star Fox: The Collapse of Lylat:

Chapter Two: Macbeth's Crisis:

**Author's Note: Before I begin, I would like to thank everyone who saw the first Chapter. I didn't have any reviews, but that's ok It is the first chapter after all. But it would be interesting to see what I'm doing badly. Also, if you have an OC (Original Character) request, then feel free to include it in a review. With that, I shall begin.**

"Can you repeat to me just what has happened?" Snapped Pepper to the man at the end of the table. The man at the end of the table was an old lion. He was reasonably aged and had mostly white hair, his eyes were a strong green, and he was rather energetic. His name was Rory. He snapped his eyes up to look at Pepper. "I am pretty sure you heard the news." He exclaimed.

"Well, yes, but what I was asking for is more detail!" Pepper shouted back to Rory, who looked up and replied: "All we know is that a non-military M5 cruiser was destroyed on its way back to Corneria. As far as we know, the most likely possibility was that one of the fuel canisters malfunctioned. "

With that, Pepper looked up and sighed. "The M5 models are incredibly well-designed, only three of them have ever failed in their whole fifteen year lifespan."

"Yes, Pepper, but there doesn't seem to be many other explanations. Another piece of evidence supporting this is that the cruiser had left a warp, which would explain a malfunction well simply because warp tunnels can damage spacecraft, especially the entrance and exits of warps. According to statistical data, sixty-five percent of all crashes in Lylat happen at warp tunnel entrances and exits."

Pepper knew this was true. He quickly tried to think of other explanations to what had happened. "The cruiser could have been ambushed at the exit of the warp." He spoke to Rory, who looked up doubtfully "But who in Lylat would want to attack a cruiser? A Cornerian cruiser at that." He asked to Pepper who looked down at the table and started to tap his fingers: "I'd like you to send seven more units to the scene to examine the scene" he ordered.

"Yes Sir." Rory replied doubtfully. With that he left the room. The room was at the top of a skyscraper in the centre of a Cornerian city called Mordan. The wall at the back was made of glass. The whole city skyline could be seen. Most of the skyscrapers were circular, but a few of them were triangular.

Pepper got up from his seat and walked to the back of the room, which had a red couch, coffee table and on the wall, a huge screen. The screen was displaying a moving panoramic view of Mordan.

He sat on the couch and pressed a button on the coffee table. The screen went white for a second then displayed an image of Rufus; head of the Macbeth military. Rufus was, like pepper a dog. He had a long nose and saggy ears. His teeth were rather jagged, and his fur was messy and dark brown. He was rather short and had a relatively high voice. "Pepper, thanks for answering my call, I thought you weren't going to answer it there." Spoke Rufus. "Sorry, I was talking to my assistant, we've had a problem. Anyway, enough of that, what do you have to say to me?" Pepper asked rather nonchalantly. Rufus paused for a few seconds then finally replied: "I'm sorry Pepper, I need you to send more Cornerian fighters over here." Pepper groaned "Why do you need so many?"

"Because the rebels ceased control of one of our main military cities." Rufus said reluctantly.

Pepper spoke up with a hard and determined voice:

"Tell me, Rufus, why should I support you? Why shouldn't I support the Rebels. Think about it. You have taxed them a huge amount, raised prices of almost everything and paid less money on health servi-" His speech was cut short by Rufus:

"I'm sorry, but we have no choice. Since the defeat of Andross, we haven't been able to get our products cheaply, at least not as cheap as his products."

He had a valid point. Most of Lylat's planets had economic problems. It had all started with the defeat of Andross. Andross had been supplying the planets of Lylat with cheap products such as metals, fuels and engines.

Pepper looked downwards; there was a brief silence between the two dogs. "You have a point Rufus, we have had the same problem. Also, we are in serious debt to Star Fox, which has caused us numerous problems."

Rufus nodded, nervously. Pepper broke that nervousness by replying "Alright, I'll send three-hundred units. Please don't get them killed because they are people, not robots, not drones, but living people, most of which have a family to return to."

"Thank you so much Pepper, I am forever in your debt." Rufus replied, but Pepper just smirked and looked up "I think you have your own debt to sort out, as do I." he said, deactivating the video call by pressing a button at the side of the couch. The screen resumed displaying the panoramic view of Mordan. Pepper groaned.

"Rory!" He shouted, "Rory, are you there?" he continued. "Yes Sir" panicked Rory, almost tripping as he rushed into the room. "Rory, send three hundred units to Ranrock, Macbeth." Pepper ordered. "But sir!-" Protested Rory but Pepper put his hand up, silencing Rory. "Do it." Pepper slowly said. "Yes sir." Rory said, and then he ran out of the room.

Pepper pressed the button on the side of the couch, and the screen flicked up many options. After a few seconds of selection, the screen went white, and then faded to reveal Fox's face. Fox was sitting on a blue couch in the living quarters of "The Great Fox."

"Pepper? Why did you call me?" asked Fox. "I'm sorry fox, I can't make last month's payment until next month. I… I'm sorry."

Fox sighed, "I'll lower the interest again, this time from five percent to two percent." he said.

"But we need the money to keep our spacecraft in good condition." He continued. Pepper nodded, "I understand. It's just the Cornerian public are beginning to struggle financially." He said. Fox nodded

"I understand." He replied, smiling.

"I also have a problem on my hands." Pepper spoke.

"Oh?" Fox exclaimed.

"Yes, we've had problems with one of our M5 cruisers. It left a warp, soon to explode. The explosion was so bright that some claim they saw it from Corneria here." Pepper grumbled.

"Maybe we should go and investigate. We're near there now." Fox proclaimed, but Pepper just laughed "We can't afford your service anymore." He went to press the power button.

"Pepper wait. I won't char-" Shouted Fox, but it was too late. Pepper didn't want to hear it. The chances are there were going to be charges at some point were just too high.

Pepper climbed of the sofa and went to the front of the room. He stared out the big glass wall. A group of around fifty Cornerian fighters soared into the sky, and beyond.

He sighed. After five minutes Rory stepped into the room. "The fighters in Mordan have been deployed, and I have sent orders to the other cities to do the same. We have also sent out thirty G6-Detective units to investigate the Cruiser incident." He panted.

"Thank you Rory, you've done a good job today. Dismissed." Pepper said, in a tired voice.

Rory sprinted out the room, leaving pepper staring out at the Mordan skyline.

**So did you like it? Please, please review, I'm looking forward to seeing criticism, as odd as that sounds. I know there wasn't much action, but it sets the scene of the story. There won't be another chapter for over a week now, because I'm on holiday, but I hope you look forward to the next. **


	3. Chapter 3: A City In Flame

Star Fox: The Collapse of Lylat:

Chapter 3:

A City in flame.

**Author's Note: Sorry for the wait. But now the wait's over and I'm back. So, thanks for the views everyone. I Even got a review. Seeing as the last chapter lacked any sort of action, it seemed fitting to include some action here.**

**And with that, I shall begin.**

Two hundred Cornerian fighters glided through space. They had only just left Corneria. They were headed to Macbeth, which would usually be a fifteen-hour journey in the ships they were using. Another hundred approached from nearby. They were accompanied by three M5 Cruisers. But these M5 cruisers were different, as they were military purpose. Military-based M5 cruisers had subtle differences to their non-military counterpart. At the point of the cruiser was a gigantic laser, which was connected to a gigantic Plasma super-heater which took up a large amount of space within the cruiser, so the whole cruiser was made larger. They also had under-shields. Under-shields protected the M5 from inside. They did this by protecting the craft from lasers, and other plasma-based weapons. From outside, there was no way of telling whether an under-shield was activated or not. Under-shields also lost power with every laser they took. In the cockpit, the power the under-shield had remaining was displayed as a health bar. Only important and larger ships had under-shields, as they were incredibly expensive to make, especially without Andross's cheap metal.

Military M5's also had dozens semi-automatic turrets on each side, all of which connected the plasma-superheater. On the underside of the ship there were five manned turrets, which used ball technology, so they could point in almost every direction except up.

The Cornerian fleet slowly went to a standstill as they approached a gigantic space station. The space station was a giant hollow hexagon, with solar panels surrounding the outside. The interior was just a long tunnel which was bigger enough to fit a whole military M5 through without a problem.

An automated female voice came from the space station: "Preparing… This may take a few moments." Blue lights began to shine inside the cylinder and it also began to spin ever so slightly. It also began making a high pitched sound as it energized. "Preparations complete. Thank you for using SpeedRoute Technologies."

The seven jets on the M5 exploded into action, and the aftermath pulled along most the fighters. The further the fleet went through the cylinder, the faster they went, until they were at an extreme speed. The blue lights began to flash white, and the high pitch sound increased in pitch. There was a gigantic flash.

The Cornerian fleet had entered the warp tunnel.

Meanwhile, high above the waters of Aquas, The Great Fox sloppily glided through and around the clouds.

On board, nothing much was happening, but the whole Star Fox crew were present, except Slippy, who was under the sea, working on the Blue Marine (Star Fox's submarine.)

Fox was sitting on a red sofa whilst drinking coffee and reading the news. Falco was playing on his GBA (**Lol**), and Peppy, who was solving a Rubik's cube.

There was also a new member to the Star Fox team: Hopper. Hopper was a fox, but he was much younger than Fox. He wasn't a fighter, but he piloted The Great Fox, much like ROB did, except The Great Fox actually participated in battles now that it had Hopper. ROB had majour circuit malfunctions and was simply the cleaner of The Great Fox. ROB was deactivated for twenty four hours a day (Cornerian days are twenty five hours long.) until he reactivated himself for an hour to clean from three AM to four AM.

From the surface, Slippy's Arwing slowly spiralled up from the surface. The Arwings were quite old now, and because of lack of payments from pepper, Star Fox were finding keeping them in good shape difficult.

Fox put the newspaper down on the coffee table. "Pepper hid the news about the lost cruiser well." He said to the others.

"I'm not surprised. He lieks to keep that kinda' stuff behind thosde closed doors. " said Hopper from the front of the living room, where the Great Fox was piloted from.

The room was rather spacious, with a low ceiling. One corner had bookshelves, while the one opposite to that was where Fox was sitting. Both walls were glass, and pointed towards to cockpit area, which was part of the room, but furthest away from the bookshelves and coffee tables. In the space between the cockpit and the back, was a big table with five seats around it, which is where Peppy was sat, doing the Rubik's cube.

"I want to go investigate the incident." Pleaded Fox, but the others groaned. "There's no point, Fox, it'd be a waste of time." Falco muttered. But Fox just snorted. "There's something odd about it though." Pestered Fox.

Falco rolled his eyes and looked out the window.

Hopper then spoke to Slippy. "Ok, opening the gate." He span on his chair and tapped one of the buttons on the cockpit, clicked one switch on the ceiling, and pulled back a small stick to his right. This stick was known as the "Gate Stick." A low rumble emanated from the bottom of The Great Fox, and then there was a clunk. He then replied to something Slippy had said "Ok, closing the gates." He clicked the switch back, pulled the same stick and pressed a button this time to his far top left. "Ah, I love my job." He chortled. Fox smiled, but his smile slowly faded.

"Alrighty', let's leave 'this place," Hopper laughed, flicking seven switches, pressing three buttons. A high pitched sound began, slowly getting higher pitch, and a vibration started from The Great Fox's core. "Where are we off to?" He asked Fox.

"Katina!" Falco replied before Fox could speak up. Fox sighed.

"Alrighty!" said Hopper, who tapped on a screen to his right, which sparked into action. He then tapped at the screen a few minutes before asking; "Which city?"

"None, we'll stay in orbit." Spoke Falco.

"Fair enough!" smiled Hopper, before tapping on the screen again. The words "Destination selected" appeared in the top right of the screen.

"And we're off!" Laughed Hopper, pulling the stick closest to him, on his left. This stick was called the "Main Stick." The Great Fox blasted forwards, and then upwards. Fox's head was pressed back to the seat he was sitting on. He also caught his coffee.

Hopper continued to flick switches, causing different things to happen on the exterior of the craft. Fire pressed all over it as it left orbit. At the peak of the ascent the windows displayed nothing but white. The white gradually faded into a calm, cooling sky. The bars that stopped the books from falling off the shelves retracted.

Meanwhile, On the outskirts of Macbeth, The Cornerian fleet gradually faded from the bright colours of warp. The Cornerian fleet sped towards Macbeth. They gradually stopped, faced with the planet.

The commander of the fleet spoke out "Activate friction resistance."

The Cornerian fighter planes each changed their wings a little. "Activate heat plates!" He spoke again.

They did so.

"For emergencies, Initiate front lasers!"

They all did. The very tip of the fighter planes split into four and the turrets emerged from them.

"Release the propellant!"

Nothing appeared to happen, but inside the planes, the fuel was transferred to the jet area.

"Activate the jets!"

Small blue flames appeared from the back of each fighter.

"Ok, now for the M5, activate the fuel canisters, heat plates and under-shield!"

Steam came from the back of the jets which weren't in use.

"Full speed ahead!"

The jets on the M5 Blasted into action and the fighter plane's flames stretched as the planes sped towards Macbeth.

"Fortunately, the Macbeth air defence zone is still owned by the Bethian army, and not the rebels." Spoke the commander.

The planes rumbled and the glass on the cockpit windows went completely white.

Soon it faded into a cool blue colour. The commander's voice spoke up again:

"Activate the flaps."

The fighter plane's wings broke in certain places to add flaps.

"Activate the fins!" Fins ejected from the top and sides of the planes.

"Streamline the front!"

The windscreen's shape altered slightly into a smoother shape, so air could flow over it.

"Deactivate the heat pads, and fire at will."

The Cornerian planes descended upon the Bethian city. Lasers started emitting from certain spots. A few Cornerian planes were wiped out, but the pilots survived through seat ejection.

The M5's jets powered down. The thirty or so turrets on the M5 started raining lasers upon the rebel fighters, and the lasers that landed on it did barely anything at all. The gigantic front laser of the M5 energized and fired a laser so huge and loud it silenced all the fighting for a second. The gigantic laser hit a skyscraper which began to collapse in a cloud of dust and fire, incinerating the people within, most of which were innocent.

The rebels fought back by sending in their equivalent of the M5, the Bethian P-202 battleships. They were similar to the M5, except they were red and consisted of thirty percent scaffolding. They had an under-shield, one large laser at the front and four large lasers at the back, with fifteen standard-sized turrets along the top. The P-202 fired a huge blue laser at the M5, pushing it back. The M5 fired its laser at the P-202 having the same affect. The P-202 were smaller than M5, but they were cheaper to make.

A second P-202 flew behind the M5, but, this P-202 was owned by the Bethian army, not the rebels. The good 202 and the M5, both fired their largest laser at the bad 202, causing the under-shield to break and annihilate the bad 202's largest laser. The bad 202 started firing crazily with the four slightly less powerful laser, still powerful enough the quieten the planes. The good 202 did the same.

Large lasers were crazily darting about the city, crushing buildings, burning museums and killing innocent and non-innocent people alike. The M5 struck its most powerful laser at the bad 202.

The laser passed right through it incinerating the middle. Pieces of scaffold fell apart… Over the city.

The whole burning chunk of loose metal began to fall on the city. When it landed, it sent a huge shockwave through the city, disorientating the planes.

Then one of the skyscrapers arched into an almighty turret, bigger than either the 202 or the M5's turret. The skyscraper took all the energy and electricity from the city. Towns, streets, schools, hospitals…

And charged it in a huge canister. Then, everything went silent. The planets couldn't be heard, and nor could the M5 or the 202, not even together.

One gigantic cylinder of plasma emitted from it, emptying the under-shield of the M5, and finishing off the 202. The 202 landed on a group of tall buildings, exploding in an almighty cloud.

The M5 was left on fire, and without an under-shield. The Rebel planes took this chance to take out the cruiser. But most of them were taken out by the normal turrets. Many of them began to successfully shoot off the standard turrets of the M5. The Cornerian planes were too busy attacking the powerful skyscraper to defend the M5.

At that moment, the second M5 fired its best laser upon the "power tower", causing it to collapse and land of the streets. At that moment, the Bethian army arrived with about a thousand Bethian fighters and two P-202s. Rufus's voice emitted from almost every direction.

"Rebels, I give you two minutes to back down your army! Give us the city back and we shall spare your lives!"

Then, a second, calmer voice emitted from everywhere: "You have destroyed the city. There is nothing more to defend… Since you decided to destroy it, we will leave. Have fun spending the time and money repairing it.

People, I command we leave this wasteland, and worry not for the future. The Bethian and Cornerian army say they won't attack us while we leave."

The Rebels left the burning city, as did the Cornerian army, but in a different direction.

Aboard the Great Fox , the Star Fox team continued to relax.

"We need money Fox!" Shouted Falco.

"Well it's not my fault that nobody can afford us! You're the one who choose the prices! I think you've made a little mistake Falco!" Fox shouted back.

"I don't think you got the point! How silly are you? The Arwings are slowly falling apart and we are doing nothing about it. What if Lylat suddenly falls into war?" Falco screamed at Fox.

"You know that isn't going to happen! Look at how peaceful Lylat is. Sure there's a few financial problems, but they are so nearly fixed!

If there was ANY kind of problem in Lylat, then we would be the first to know!"

…

**Well, that's all for today! Did you enjoy it? I hope I managed to balance action and speech well, and I hope you did enjoy it. If you are looking forward to the next chapter, then follow/favourite this story. Also, if you reviewed that would really help, and I also take OC requests. **

**And with that, I shall end this chapter. **


	4. Chapter 4: An Arwing's Last Flight

Star Fox: The Collapse of Lylat

Chapter 4:

An Arwing's Last Flight

**Author's Note: Hello again! Here is the fourth chapter, and thanks for the many views and visitors, and a few reviews. I have read them and I will put them into account. Also, **_**Italics**_** means a character's thoughts. And with that, let's begin.**

One of Macbeth's great cities, Ranrock, sat in ruin. Small portions of smoke rose from piles of rubble and small embers scattered the streets. There were no people present, All except one animal. He walked along the streets. His large, black leather boots made a sound which echoed throughout the abandoned city. He had joined the Rebel forces when he couldn't pay the mortgage on his house, which was now a pile of rubble. The city was covered in a hue of bright orange from the evening sun. It was oddly welcoming.

The animal made his way to where his house used to be. It had taken a beating from numerous stray lasers from Rebels and defences until the foundation had collapsed. The man's name was Seth, and he was a wolf, with dark fur, a large nose and bright, green eyes.

The orange gradually faded into blue as he stared at the rubble which was his home. He turned and made his way back to his craft, which was a Bethian fighter the rebels had given him.

He chuckled a little, even Venom had never faced civil war.

When he arrived at his craft he pressed a button on a device he was holding. Four small lights on the craft flashed orange and the window raised.

Bethian fighters were compact and circular, as a result they moved faster but had firepower than Cornerian fighters. They had one jet which was one long horizontal slit at the back. This type of jet was better with smaller crafts. The craft could also land, and did so with three robotic arms that kept the ship in place.

Seth climbed in and as he did so the window shut. He flicked three switches and hot air was ejected out the bottom of the craft. Slowly the craft rose and the legs retracted. The craft turned to the correct direction, and the jet burst into action.

Seth sat back in his seat, it was warm and comfortable. He moved his hands to the steering wheel (which wasn't wheel shaped, but rectangular) and pulled it back. He activated the heat plates, powered up the jet and then rocketed into outer orbit.

That night, The Great Fox slowly slid away from Aquas. The main room was completely empty except the half-functioning ROB, regretfully mopping the floor. He was not one of the top priorities to the Star Fox team and was therefore expendable. The team itself had offered many times to make him more of a priority, but each time he had stubbornly refused, with the excuse that his only purpose was to make sure all the other machines were intact.

Slowly, every day, more of his memories would flicker out of existence, at that was only from the overloading data of cleaning the floor, one hour a day..

A memory of a coffee stain replaced his memory of Fox defeating Andross. Slowly, he wheeled his way (His legs had broken several months ago.) back to his charging station. It looked more like a coffin up front. It opened up to reveal a compact chamber full of wires. Just before he made his way in, he collapsed, and his last battery life began to wane. He thought about of the great things he could remember. A crisp packet on the floor, the coffee stain he had mopped up earlier and most importantly the sandwich on the floor. Then, he slowly had several malfunctions until his reactor failed.

Falco woke up. His room was rather small with several posters pasted on the walls. To his bedside sat a table with a lamp, and a book upside down. One wall was entirely transparent, so through it, a beautiful night sky could be seen.

There was a knock at the door.

"Can I ask you something?" Came Slippy's voice

"Ugh, what is it, Slip?" Groaned Falco.

"Err, can I ask why you want to go to Katina?" Slippy asked

"No." Falco replied.

"What are you hiding, Falco!" Snapped Slippy.

"Ugh, nothing, I just shouted the destination so Fox wouldn't waste our time and money going to the so-called wreckage site." Falco snorted.

"Oh, so it isn't important?" Slippy laughed.

"Slippy! Does it seem important to you? No! Now go away, I still have sleeping to do!" Falco shouted back.

Slippy ran along and knocked at Hopper's door. No reply. He knocked again, but this time an automatic voice started: "The owner of this room is not present at the current time, would you like to leave a message for them?"

But Slippy had already walked along the corridor. At the end, there was a turn right to a lift. The lift's doors opened and Slippy stepped in.

Hopper was sat on the red sofa, drinking tea. "Oh, hey Slip" he said, putting the cup down. "You're up a little early today, wouldn't you say?" Exclaimed Hopper.

"Well, yes, but there's somewhere I want to go. Falco says going to Katina isn't important." Slippy replied.

"Very well, where do you want to go?" Asked Hopper.

"Zoness" Slippy chortled.

Hopper smiled; "Looking for a holiday?"

"No, I need to collect new materials there." Slippy sniggered in return.

Despite pollution from Andross, ninety percent of Zoness was still the tropical resort it was before, the main difference was that it was now the third most-visited planet in the Lylat system, Aquas had overtaken it in tourism sales.

"Alright, re-planning route." Said Hopper, rising from his seat. After about a minute, The Great Fox changed direction, and the jets doubled in power.

"Hang on!" Said Hopper, "Is that a cruiser in the distance?" He continued. Slippy looked up and ran to the front of the room, the cockpit. "What is it?" Asked Slippy.

"Give me a second" was the reply. Hopper tapped the screen to the right of the pilot seat. The screen lit up. He tapped on a few icons. "Analysis selected." Said a robotic voice.

"That's odd..." said Hopper.

"What is it?" Slippy gasped.

"Oh, it's Cornerian. Actually, looking at it now, it's a military-based M5 cruiser." Hopper said.

"Are you sure its military based?" Proclaimed Slippy.

"Well that's what the celestial analyser says anyway, and you made it." Said Hopper to Slippy.

"Let's take a closer look and see for ourselves." Said Slippy.

"Don't you trust your own device?" Laughed Hopper, activating the boost propellant, and igniting it through a variety of switches. After about three seconds Slippy spoke out; "Yep, it's military based."

"How can you tell from here?" asked Hopper

"Size proportion and the variation of the tip." Boasted Slippy, but Hopper only understood half of the sentence.

"I'm calling Fox." Hopper said, getting up from his chair and walking back. "Erm, Slip, ROB's on the floor!" He called to Slippy.

Slippy went wide eyed "What!?" He moaned.

Meanwhile, in the Mordan centre tower:

"What's the verdict?" Asked Pepper to Rory.

"Well, our army and Rufus's won, but we lost an M5.

Also, the city Rufus was trying to reclaim was obliterated, sir."

"I don't know why I'm supporting Rufus, considering he has 'obliterated' his own people." Snorted Pepper.

"They attacked first." Rory scowled.

"Yes, but only because they couldn't afford to feed their own families!" Shouted pepper.

"Macbeth is still richer than us though…" protested Rory.

"Maybe so. While it's true they had the biggest industrial force, they used Venomous metals in their products. Also, don't forget they're densely overpopulated, meaning they have trouble providing food, homes, fuel and water to everybody." Pepper spoke.

"Yes, but more people mean more tax money!" Rory fiercely snapped.

"Yes, meaning they were taxed so much they couldn't afford their basic needs." Pepper spoke back calmly.

"Yes, but more people mean the tax can be spread evenly between everybody!" Rory roared.

"This argument is over." Shouted Pepper, smashing his hand on the table.

"Sorry, sir." Rory said calmly.

"Right. Now. Is there any news regarding the exploding M5 case?" Asked Pepper, as if the argument had never happened.

"No news sir." Sighed Rory.

The screen at the back of the room flashed.

"Ugh, who now?" growled Pepper.

"Oh, it's Fox." He continued, relieved.

He pressed the blue button on the coffee table.

"Hi Pepper." Said Fox.

"Yes, well, hello Fox, is everything alright?

Why are you calling?" Asked Pepper

"Actually, I do have a question. Why is there a military based M5 cruiser outside the window?" Snapped Fox.

"None of your business. You're far too overpriced for us!" Shouted Pepper, ending the call.

The screen flashed again.

"Oh what NOW?" Shouted pepper, once again. He turned to face the screen.

"Oh?" Said Pepper, answering the call.

"Hello, Pepper." Came a voice.

Pepper nodded.

"A friend of mine hacked the calls satellite. I heard your little conversation. You might find our prices a little more… Affordable."

In disbelief, Pepper nodded once again.

Aboard The Great Fox, the crew gathered around the lump of broken circuits that was once ROB 64. "What happened?" Asked Falco to Slippy.

"Don't ask me! Who was up latest last night?" Shouted Slippy.

"Stop trying to blame people!" snapped Fox, pulling ROB up by the elbow. The arm snapped off.

"Great going, Fox!" Groaned Falco.

"How about we all shut up and find out what happened!" Shouted Peppy.

Hopper didn't care. He was sat in the pilot seat with a yo-yo. He had never met ROB before he began to malfunction.

"You've killed a friend Fox!" Scowled Falco.

"He was already dead." Sighed Hopper, but no one heard him.

"Looks like a reactor dysfunction." Said Slippy, looking the torso circuits.

"Congratulations!" Shouted Falco.

"Will you be quiet!" Moaned Peppy.

Their debate was silenced by an explosion.

"Oh my…" Gasped Hopper

"What's going on?!" Shouted Fox.

"I… I'm not sure!" Hopper panicked.

A gigantic P-202 battleship rolled over sideward.

Two of the four semi-powerful lasers fired at the M5's most powerful turret, until the 202 had fully turned, then the other two semi-powerful lasers fired on the M5's main turret.

The main turret gave one last shot before bursting into flames and being repelled by the under-shield.

The shot hit the 202, causing its rolling speed to increase slightly.

"The analyser shows us that the 202's under-shield is at 22 percent!" Shouted Hopper.

"With a potential two or one percent inaccuracy." Added Slippy.

"Ugh be silent, Slippy!" Shouted Falco.

"Well I'm sorry! I'm only in the middle of developing a second addition with point-thirty-three percent more accuracy and improved interface!" Retorted Slippy.

Falco whacked Slippy in the side. "Do I look like I care?!" he shouted, but Fox pulled him back.

"I'm sorry, Slippy. It's just that everybody is worked up at the moment. Because there's a huge battle going on outside!" Panicked Fox.

The M5's thirty-five standards turrets activated and started a rain of lasers upon the M5's under-shield.

"Fox!" Shouted Slippy as several Rebel fighters rocketed towards The Great Fox.

The group Bethian fighters were the Blue Squad.

"I don't think Star Fox mean us any harm!" Called BlueOne to the rest.

"Are you kidding me, Star Fox is bound to support Corneria. They always have and always will!" BlueThree retorted in a calm tone.

"I have to say, he has a fair point. Star Fox were even offered a place in the Cornerian military." Pointed out the female voice of BlueFive.

The gates at the bottom of The great Fox began to retract.

"Guys, I think they're coming out to attack!" Shouted BlueTwo

"We should invite Red squad!" suggested BlueFive.

"Done!" reported BlueOne.

By the end of that conversation, three Arwings were ejected from The Great Fox's gate, which was on the underside of the craft.

The Arwings boosted towards Blue Squad and also Red Squad who were catching up.

The Rebel fighters activated their lasers on the Arwings, which simply avoided them.

"Darn it!" Shouted BlueTwo.

The Arwings had almost reached the Squads until they suddenly boosted through them, avoiding laser fire. The Arwings activated their boost and sped towards the M5.

Fox, from within the Arwing; called Pepper:

"Pepper what's going on here! A Cornerian Cruiser is attacking a Bethian battleship!"

Pepper sighed.

"The odd thing is that Macbeth sent a BATTLESHIP here in the first place!" Retorted Pepper.

"I'm sorry, but the M5 was the assaulter here!" Replied Fox.

"I see. Well, that is not my doing…" Moaned Pepper, who began to pout.

Fox did a barrel roll to avoid a swarm of Bethian lasers.

"I have no choice but to oppose this M5, Pepper" Spoke Fox.

"I see. I can forgive you for it, Fox. But… There's one small problem and reason you shouldn't." Pepper panicked.

"Why?" Demanded Fox.

The call was interrupted by another one: "Long time no see! Star Fox!"

Four Wolven spacecraft Were ejected from the M5.

"Wolf!" Fox shouted, putting a foot on one of the Arwing's peddles.

"I'm sorry Fox, I don't have control of that particular M5 at the moment!" Pepper screamed.

"It's too late for that!" Shouted Fox as thirty lasers starting firing at him, Falco and Peppy.

"Be careful Fox!" Shouted Hopper.

Fox dived to avoid the oncoming fire. He twisted upwards into the full thick of the lasers, but managed to get through it without doing too much damage to the under-shield.

"Thank you for getting into my range!" Came Leon's voice. A large orange laser struck perfectly into the middle of the Arwing's jet.

Fox gasped as the 'health bar' displaying the under-shield's status dropped to an early caution. A thin, powerful yellow beam appeared striking the M5, and reducing its under-shield.

"Hah, good shot me!" smiled Hopper.

Slippy laughed behind him.

"So you're the new member of Star Fox..." Came Wolf's voice into the microphones of The Great Fox.

"Yes I am…" Spat Hopper.

Fox turned, twisted and boosting away from the flurry of lasers that approached him from the M5

"it's hot, hot on HOT here!" Shouted Fox. He boosted away to the underside of the M5. The five manual spherical turrets all pointed to him.

"Oh…" gasped Fox.

Falco, sped along the top of the M5, removing turrets as he did so.

"Fox, we can't win at this rate!" he shouted. Leon and Andrew, in their shiny Wolven approached the old, rusty Arwing.

"Nice toy!" Shouted Andrew, Which made Pigma chuckle.

Andrew fired a shot which damaged the wing to the left (Even though the wings were not open) And leon fired a shot which missed.

"Help's on its way!" Shouted Hopper. Five small, thin, powerful yellow lasers, one at a time, struck the side of M5, lowering its health-bar to fourty-percent.

"I'm here for ya'!" Shouted Peppy, detonating a smart bomb on the top of the M5. A blinding light flashed for two or three seconds. Afterwards, Fifteen of the small, automated turrets had been removed.

Another set of thin, yellow shots from the Great Fox damaged the side of the M5.

"Hah!" Laughed Hopper. "Twenty percent remains!"

Andrew shot Peppy's front screen. "Argh!" Peppy shouted as he got whiplash and his Under-Shield reduced to thirty percent.

Fox panicked as the gunners at the bottom of the M5 outsmarted Fox. Fox pointed straight up and fired a smart bomb.

The Universe went silent for a few seconds.

One of the turrets smashed, leaving the innocent gunner to fall out, depressurize, suffocate and… get shot, in the middle of space. The other two were shell-shocked by the loss of the first and rushed out the turrets to grab a space suit.

Wolf spun from behind the M5 and shot Fox's left wing in the most vunerable spot. The wing split into several pieces which flew across space.

"Fox!" shouted Slippy from within The great Fox. Pigma fired a laser at Fox's other wing. The aim wasn't quite as good, but it still had quite a bad effect. Fox, in panic, turned as much as possible and boosted at full speed.

"What's the matter, feeling a little SHY?!" Laughed Pigma. Wolf half smiled.

Leon swooped in from above and shot down on Fox's window.

"ARGH!" He groaned as his under-shield broke.

Hopper fired another set of five lasers at the M5.

"The M5's under-shield is at five percent guys!" hopped Slippy.

"Fox..?" gasped Hopper, silencing Slippy.

Pigma fired wildly at fox, taking out his guns and igniting the back right of his Arwing. While this was happening, Andrew barrel rolled into line with The Great Fox, and started firing into the gates, at the mechanics room, where the Arwings are launched.

Hopper screamed. "Closing the gates! Closing the gates!" He panicked. He started to hyperventilate.

"NO HOPPER!" Screamed Fox.

A shot from Leon scraped the top of the Arwing, igniting it.

The Great Fox's gates were half closed.

Fox did a half-barrel roll and braked while turning, sending him spinning towards The Great Fox.

"Fox stop! You're going to smash the cockpit and kill us!"

Wolf aimed for the jet at the back of the Arwing. A smile touched his lips as he got the aim just perfect.

There was a flash from the M5 as Falco landed a smart bomb in the top-middle of the M5, ripping a small chunk out the top.

Wolf fired… The laser landed on one of the outer areas of jet, causing the left side of the entire Arwing to become loose.

"DARN!" Shouted Wolf.

Fox activated the boost, causing him to spin faster and point down. He went crashing downwards towards The Great Fox's three-quarter closed gate, but, just as Fox was about the land nose down on the Gate, Fox braked hard and turned upright. The top of the gate crushed the top of the Arwing as it slid across the spacious room, causing sparks to emanate in all directions. Steam emitted from the top of the Arwing.

"Fox! Don't open your Arwing hatch yet! I haven't closed the airlock!" Hopper screamed. Fox gasped and threw himself across the seat.

A large, familiar sound emanated as the air flowed through the spacious room.

"Fox get out of that Arwing!" Panted Slippy.

Fox did so before shouting: "We need to get the others in immediately!"

"Not quite yet!" Came Falco's voice. "With you distracting Star Wolf, we were able to finish off the under-shield!" Panted peppy.

Hoses at the top of the mechanics rom put out the fires on the Arwing.

"Gotcha!" Shouted Hopper as one of the thin, yellow lasers landed on Pigma, eliminating his under-shield immediately and knocking off the edges of the wings.

Pigma screamed but fixed himself to boost out of the thick of things.

"That's right Wolf! Fear me!" Hopper laughed.

"You didn't hit me." Wolf laughed in return.

"I know but…" Hopper gasped, humiliated. Then there was a flash of light.

"What was thaaa-!" Slippy began to shout as the fuel canisters on the M5 leaked and ignited.

The seven canisters all went at the same time. Several hundred tonnes of fuel igniting in one second.

Everything went white.

…

**Well, phew, did you like it? There was a slight imbalance to Action over speech, but that's ok with me. There will be more speech and story in the coming chapter or two. But I hope you like it. Please review. I like to know what I did well and not-so-well. I also look at OC requests. And with that, the chapter ends. **


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